Serve With Ascension in 2023

Serve Wing & Mission Outreach

Why do we still refer to this wing in both ways? We do that because it is impossible to separate mission outreach from service. Many people think of mission as only global mission. While this is an integral part of what we do, we can’t forget that serving those within our own community is equally important. Our wing’s ministry leaders have committed 2023 to be a year of helping the members of Ascension to see that they all have a calling to serve through love. Through this service, we will live out the command Jesus gave and will bring others to know Jesus as their Savior. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35)

There was an old praise song that still motivates me to service:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love

How can you serve? Watch the newsletter and weekly announcements about simple ways to serve our community partners either by yourself, your family or a small group.

How do you know what is the best way to serve? What are your skills? What are your interests? What is something that you feel drawn to? Take a bold step and try something out to see if you have found a way to serve. If that doesn’t feel comfortable after a few tries, try another calling. God will guide you to the right thing. Please contact Shirley Wehmeier,  shwehmeier@gmail.com, if you or your small group would like to know the upcoming needs. Don’t belong to a small group? It doesn’t have to be a formal group. Gather a group of friends to live out the command to love one another so everyone will know you are His disciples.

Hope Center

We have had a wonderful response to the requests for specific donations for Hope Center. We have collected a large amount of baby needs for the virtual baby shower and the TGIT small group made their own delivery after collecting needed items. This group also serves a meal at Hope Center when needed. Amen ministry responded to the need for long underwear as we move into the winter season. They had a social event and collected the underwear as their winter service project. Service can be fun! Amen also regularly serves a meal at Hope Center. Both the baby items and winter clothes donations will be ongoing as is the need for serving meals.

Christmas Light Recycling

As you taking down your decorations, do you have a set of Christmas lights that don’t work? Are you ready to toss out a few old sets you’re not using? Most electronic products like Christmas lights are not bio-degradable and will not decompose into the earth’s soil after being tossed away and will leach harmful chemicals into the soil. If you want to keep your lights from going to a landfill and do your part to look after God’s creation, recycling your lights is a great way to do it! Place them in the marked bin in the Donation Center and we will properly dispose of them.

Hawthorne School Partnership

We will again be collecting new or very gently used coats, boots, hats and waterproof mittens for Hawthorne School. Outdoor play is encouraged unless it is super cold and many children do not have the proper outdoor clothing. Place donations in the Donation Center.

Habitat for Humanity: Ascension Build Day

Ascension Build Day with Habitat is Wednesday, Jan. 25. We will need a maximum of five volunteers. Volunteers must be at least 18-years-old and willing to complete an online waiver. This is our first build day in five years so we are excited to get back to serving our community in this important mission. They will know we are Christians by our love. Contact Nick Wagner to volunteer, nwagner703@yahoo.com.

Tutoring

After a break during December, tutoring will resume on January 8. We are hoping to have more of a one-on-one approach when possible. We work with preschoolers through adults. We work with young children to be school ready and school age children to assist in homework /classroom needs and to improve spoken and written skills. Our tutors are great at making these fun experiences. We work with adults who are English Language learners and need specific help in learning both spoken and written English. We also assist in preparation for the written drivers’ test and for the citizenship test. Please contact Shirley at shwehmeier@gmail.com if you are interested in helping with students or if you know of someone who may benefit from this program.

Blessing Box

Thank you to all of you who have been helping us keep the Blessing Box filled. As we have more very cold days, please be aware of putting things in the box that might freeze and containers break. We have people checking the box several times a week so that we can monitor that food is fresh and safe. On very cold days, dry products such as cereal, snacks, most canned goods are a good choice. Plastic or glass may break. Fresh produce or bakery will freeze quickly. We also see a little reduction in use when it is very cold so please keep an eye on the weather. If you come to church and you notice items on the ground, please bring them into church or notify the office so one of the leaders can come to take care of the items. We do not want things frozen to the ground this time of the year.

October Missions

Afghan Refugees

There has been a lot of media coverage on the Afghan refugees and how it will impact Wisconsin. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) is the primary agency of the Lutheran Church to coordinate nationwide work with refugees and immigrants. Their website explains the national efforts by LIRS to support the Afghan Allies arriving in the US. At this time, advocacy and donations are greatly needed. Lutheran Social Services (LSS) is the local agency that resettles refugees as they come to Wisconsin. The LSS website explains the LSS Wisconsin efforts to support those Afghans who will be resettled in the Milwaukee area after being released from Ft. McCoy. Please check out the “Fact Sheet” on that page for even more detailed information. Currently, financial donations to LSS are the greatest need.

Afghans can only be released from Ft. McCoy into the care of LSS after they have passed screening and LSS is able to guarantee one year of support (all rent, food, transportation, etc.). There is a “Supply List” outlining what is needed for each home set up by LSS. At this time, LSS cannot store items, and does not yet know how many apartments, how many bedrooms, what size beds, and what age of individuals will be relocated. Once they know that information, they will have a very short period of time to set up homes. Ascension or LSS does not have storage space to store donated items at this time.

Information is changing quickly, based on Federal decisions so Ascension will try to keep current on announcements. LSS is focusing on the long welcome after Afghans are released from Ft. McCoy. Several Ascension members serve on the synod Immigration and Refugee Committee and will be able to keep you informed if you have questions. Contact Shirley Wehmeier, shwehmeier@gmail.com.

Tutoring Program

After an 18-month hiatus, our tutoring program re-started on Sept. 18. We are continuing to encourage volunteers to step forward so that we can ensure that all tutor groups have at least two tutors for 2-4 students to provide flexibility for the tutors. We still need helpers with the children. We know from prior years that the program continues to grow as the weeks progress. Several students are involved in sports or school activities that limit them from starting until October. We are pleased to see that they are becoming more active in other activities, so we want to be prepared to welcome them when they return. We have heard from others in the community that they are interested in our program so if we can get additional tutors, we can do more outreach into the community.

Our program provides tutoring classes for adults and kids. Our adults are mostly Burmese and Latinos who are beginning English learners or those who want to advance their English skills. The children range in age from pre-school to high school. The little ones may not have heard much English at home, so they are new to the language. The older children will need help with their homework or more advanced English skills. We will support you in planning how to best work with the students. You will be blessed by working with these amazing people. Contact Barbara Nordberg if you are interested or would like more information.

Thank You!

Thank you to all who have continued to donate to our various partners in the community. During the summer we donated over 1000 bottles of water and six large boxes of Blessing Bags for the homeless to the Hope Center. We have been able to provide food, paper products, snacks and cleaning supplies for the neighbors through our Blessing Box every week throughout the summer. The Little Library continues to provide books for those in our community. Donations to the Food Pantry were delivered twice a month throughout the summer. We delivered six bins of donations to Cross Food Pantry. This is an amazing testimony of faith that in spite of all that is happening in people’s lives, Ascension remains generous with their donations for those who have so much less. When you fed the least of these, you fed Me.

Mt. Meru Coffee Project

Supporting Farmers, Growing Futures, Changing Lives is the mission of the Meru Coffee Project. Established in 1999, the Project enables the small coffee farmers living on the slopes of Mount Meru in Tanzania to have funds available to send their children to school, access and pay for health care, and to support local farm villages, markets, and merchants.

The Project provides small farmers with a fair price for their premium coffee. A fair price provides an increase in farm income, allowing the farmers to support their families with dignity. The coffee project is a part of our partnership in Tanzania. Purchasing and drinking Mt. Meru Premium Tanzanian Coffee is the single most important way in which individuals, congregations, and businesses can support thousands of family coffee farmers in Tanzania.

How can you help? Purchase coffee for your home use, give it as gifts, volunteer to set up, serve and clean up coffee for church on Sundays. Serving and selling Meru coffee has been a long tradition at Ascension. Since the pandemic, we have gradually re-introduced the coffee on Sunday mornings. Your help is needed to continue to do this. Contact the church office or Shirley Wehmeier to volunteer.

NAMIWalks

The date for the annual walk for mental health programs provided by NAMI is October 9. See their website on all the options for participating. NAMI is one of our community partners and provides education, prevention and support for individuals and families impacted by mental illness.

Creation Care

Plenty of beneficial pollinators overwinter in gardens, using plants and debris that are left behind to survive. Hollow canes and dead flower stalks, leaves and ground vegetation, old wood & bark and undisturbed soil are natural shelters for non-migrating bees, butterflies, beetles and other pollinators. How can you do your part?

  • Don’t give away or compost your raked leaves! Keep them in your yard. Spread them about 2” high on all your garden beds and place branches over them to keep them from blowing away. Place the rest in the woods.
  • Postpone pulling up your dead annuals and perennials until spring. They’ll trap whatever leaves blow by, creating their own enriching mulch while shielding insects throughout the winter.
  • Don’t disturb areas of bare soil where many wild bee species, including bumblebees, overwinter in small nests.
  • Leave dead logs where insects may overwinter under peeling bark.

For those of you who think this may be too messy, consider cleaning up just the front edge of the most visible areas and leave the back section until spring. Your eyes will be drawn to the neat edge and you will save your own energy while providing critical winter habitat and shelter for the beautiful moths, butterflies, pollinators and insects that you work so hard to support in the warm months. Your overwintering pollinators will thank you by emerging in the spring and delighting you all over again. Contact Lynn Parkhurst with questions. (Source: University of New Hampshire Extension.)

(Reprinted from the Oct. 2021 newsletter)